Sorry I haven’t updated the blog in a little bit. Time gets away from you so easily. Things are going well here, save a head cold that Avalyn has and shared with me. Thankfully, thus far, Marissa and Analeigh have avoided getting sick.
Despite being assured at our last meeting that everything was set with Analeigh Gracerose Hess Hess, on Friday I received a letting indicating that there was still more paperwork to be done. Begrudgingly, we headed down to the Registro Civil today to take part in another “bureaucracy in action” afternoon. To our surprise, we were met by the same friendly and helpful girl who helped us last time, and we were informed that we simply had to verify the change we had made last time, and that we could actually get her birth certificates today( which is 3 days EARLY)! As if this wasn’t amazing enough, we were once again reminded what a blessing it is to be either pregnant or have a small baby in Costa Rica. This great blessing was illustrated, as it has been dozens of times over the last 4 months, by someone in line informing us that there was no need for us to wait in the long line because we have a baby. Therefore, please skip the eternally long line and go to the front! It is, I admit, quite uncomfortable to skip approximately 2 hours in each line (there were two that we skipped today) and then have someone wave you in once you appear in the front. I must confess, I’m still waiting for someone to angrily inform me to return to the back of the line each and every time it has happened! While Marissa was pregnant this happened in the grocery stores, bus lines, cars would stop in the street to let us cross (anyone who has been to a developing country knows the sheer miracle that this is!). A helpful hint to anyone who  is thinking about moving to Costa Rica, be sure to be pregnant right before you go! We entered the office and had to purchase “timbres” which are little stamps that act as payment for your documents. After receiving the timbres, you stick them onto a little sheet of paper, then stand in another, even longer line to get the documents printed. I’m not sure what kind of financial benefit this whole process must serve for Costa Rica, seeing as how the timbres cost 25 colones (about five cents) for each birth certificate. We got six of them (they expire and each office you take them to keeps a copy) which they printed off their state of the art dot-matrix printer, then stamped and signed for good measure. She is now officially Analeigh Grace Hess Hess. Here is the document to prove it.

Our next step will be visiting the American Embassy to let Uncle Sam know that we had a baby. There we will apply for citizenship for Analeigh, and ultimately receive a US birth certificate, social security number, and a passport.
Speaking of bureaucracy, this Sunday was election day in Costa Rica. We observed with great interest as people hung flags on their houses and cars, and campaigned by the side of the road all across town. Throughout the day the city was filled with the sounds of people cheering on the side of the road and cars honking in approval/disapproval of their candidate. In the end, Costa Rica elected their first female president, who is the current vice president. Her name is Laura Chinchilla and she will be inaugurated in April.